Stanford's $20 million T20 in troubled waters

The $20 million Twenty20 clash between England and the Stanford All-Stars faces the danger of being abandoned.

Written by Indo-Asian News Service

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London:

The $20 million Twenty20 clash between England and the Stanford All-Stars, tipped to be the most lucrative match in cricket's history, faces the danger of being abandoned as crucial negotiations between the West Indies Cricket Board and its sponsor Digicel broke down.

Three weeks ago the High Court in London placed an injunction on the Stanford match slated to begin Nov 1 in Antigua at the request of Digicel, the sponsors of the West Indies Cricket Board, Daily Telegraph reports.

Digicel argued the Stanford All-Stars are the West Indies team in all but name - and therefore the West Indies Cricket Board had no right to sell the title rights for the Stanford game to Cable and Wireless, their main rivals for the telecommunications market in the Caribbean.

The West Indian board and Stanford proposed a compromise last week, but was immediately turned down by Digicel. The two parties will next meet in an arbitration hearing at the High Court at the beginning of next month.